emotional
Americanadjective
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subject to or easily affected by emotion.
We are an emotional family, given to demonstrations of affection.
- Synonyms:
- sentimental, demonstrative, effusive, temperamental
- Antonyms:
- inexpressive, unsentimental, undemonstrative
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appealing to the emotions.
an emotional request for contributions.
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showing or revealing very strong emotions.
an emotional scene in a play.
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actuated, effected, or determined by emotion rather than reason.
An emotional decision is often a wrong decision.
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governed by emotion.
He is in a highly emotional state of mind.
adjective
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of, characteristic of, or expressive of emotion
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readily or excessively affected by emotion
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appealing to or arousing emotion
an emotional piece of music
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caused, determined, or actuated by emotion rather than reason
an emotional argument
Other Word Forms
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emotionalitynoun
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hyperemotionaladjective
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nonemotionaladjective
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overemotionaladjective
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preemotionaladjective
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pseudoemotionaladjective
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quasi-emotionaladjective
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semiemotionaladjective
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unemotionaladjective
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emotionallyadverb
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hyperemotionallyadverb
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nonemotionallyadverb
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overemotionallyadverb
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preemotionallyadverb
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pseudoemotionallyadverb
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quasi-emotionallyadverb
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semiemotionallyadverb
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unemotionallyadverb
Etymology
Origin of emotional
Explanation
If it has anything to do with feelings like happiness or anger, then consider it emotional. A co-worker who cries at the drop of a hat is overly emotional. If someone says "Stop being so emotional!" they're telling you to calm down because your feelings are out of control. When you're emotional, you're feeling lots of feelings, or emotions: happy, sad, afraid, lonely, mad. An emotional speech makes you stand up and cheer. An emotional movie tugs on your heartstrings. The opposite of emotional is logical: logical things have more to do with your head, while emotional things are all about your heart.
Vocabulary lists containing emotional
Words to Describe a Novel or a Story
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"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 10
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Visibly emotional, he said he misses Diana "every day", adding "that's the thing with sibling loss, you never get over it."
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
Astaire considered himself a dancer first, but composers prized his singing—its flawless rhythm, clear diction and emotional restraint, a plain manner that let melody and lyrics speak for themselves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
A team of lab assistants spent months watching their reactions, coding facial expressions and scoring them against nine emotional behaviors: anger, disgust, happiness/amusement, contempt, sadness, embarrassment, fear, surprise and confusion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
The mother of a 13-year-old girl who has been missing from home for six days has made an emotional plea for her safe return.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
That mood was as physical as it was emotional.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
